I Do
by snufflesthegrim
Summary: The evolution of a boy and a girl.


A boy and a girl, both with wild hair, sat alone in an empty train compartment. One had a black raven's nest. The other had a brown bush for hair.  
"I'm Harry Potter," the boy said.  
The girl smiled. "I'm Hermione Granger. I've read about you."  
"Do you want to be friends?" Harry asked anxiously.  
"I do."

A boy and a girl lay still and alone in an empty infirmary. The boy sat up and turned to the stone face of his best friend. She did not, could not move.  
The boy's voice penetrated the heavy, whitewashed silence, "Come back, Hermione. I miss you. Classes aren't the same without you there."  
He sighed and rose to leave.  
"I need you Mione, really I do."

A boy and a girl dropped, alone, through the empty air, then were borne upwards on warm, feathered wings, uplifted by the memory of a shining stag.  
"How did you know?" she shouted over the wind, her arms wrapped around his waist.  
"I knew I could, because I'd already seen myself. I'd already done it!" he replied over his shoulder. "Do you get it?"  
The girl replied, "No!"  
Seeing Harry's disbelieving look, she grinned. "Only joking. I do."

A boy and a girl embraced briefly outside an empty tent. With a flash and a click and a raucous woman's laugh, people flooded through the entrance. Harry and Hermione released each other.  
As the woman spoke through her acid quill, Harry shot his friend a puzzled glance. Hermione whispered, "She thinks we're dating."  
Harry was confused and a bit disbelieving. "It's not like anyone wants to date me. They only want the fame and money of the bloody Boy-Who-Lived."  
The Headmaster interrupted, ushering Hermione away, outside. She stared at the tent with her best friend within, remembering his words. "No one wants you, Harry? Is that what you think? Well, I do."

A boy and a girl stood alone in an empty pub as it filled with the rebellious. The girl addressed her schoolmates, calling for a teacher who would actually teach. The boy stood up and told not a rousing speech, but a horror story.  
The story of his life.  
He then remarked, "This is what you may have to bear if you fight in this war. Will anyone stay with me through all that?"  
No one made a sound.  
"Exactly," Harry continued with a sense of finality. "Does anyone promise to, in their capacity, become strong, fight evil, and help the weak?"  
He turned away in dejection after garnering no reaction from the gathered crowd.  
"Wait!" Hermione called. She stood and faced her friend, "I do. I promise."  
And one by one, the others began to stand.

A boy and a girl leaned on each other, alone in an empty corridor. The girl's sobs echoed through the stone halls.  
"How could he?" she wailed. "It's just stupid Lavender. Why does stupid Ron never stay with us when he is needed?"  
Harry remarked, "You know, you just said he doesn't stay with us. Not you."  
Hermione blushed, "Well, you have always stayed by me." Comprehension dawned on her tear-streaked face. Harry still had no idea what she was saying. Hermione continued, "Ron was never there for me or you if it didn't benefit him. We don't need that tosser!"  
Harry knew she was right. Plus, Ron was his first friend, but Hermione was his best friend. Harry dragged a question from the recesses of his mind, a question left lingering unresolved for a long time. But first, he had to make sure, "I always thought you liked each other."  
Hermione scoffed. "As if I would fancy the toerag."  
"In that case," Harry began, feeling like his insides had turned into flobberworms, "I have actually wanted to ask you this for a long time," he admitted.  
Hermione looked at his reddening face and was surprised when Harry continued, "Hermione Granger, do you want to be my girlfriend?"  
Hermione squealed and tackle hugged her new boyfriend. Realizing he was nervously awaiting an answer, she replied, "Yes. Yes I do."

A boy and a girl lay alone in an empty tent as a red-faced redhead stormed out. "Hey. Hermione," the boy started. "You know he'll get over it, right?"  
"Thanks, Harry," Hermione replied. "I do. We're all on edge here. He just snapped first."

A boy and a girl slumped alone in an empty dormitory. Red curtains and brown hair draped across the boy' shoulders. "Will we ever move on?" he asked the girl, voice muffled by her hair. "Will the Wizarding World heal? Does anyone even think of me as me and nit the bloody Boy-Who-Lived-Again?"  
Hermione raised her head. "You know I do, Harry."

A man and a woman stood alone in a crowded hall. They fit, black and white opposite but soul the same.  
"Do you, Hermione Jean Granger, take Harry James Potter to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, from this day forward, for better, for worse, for richer, for poorer, in sickness and in health, until death do you part?"

"I do."

And the hall rejoiced.


End file.
